How to Go From Ordinary to Extraordinary
The most extraordinary were once ordinary too
Some people are ordinary.
And some are extraordinary.
But it’s not that way from birth.
Becoming extraordinary is a choice — and staying ordinary is one too.
You’re going to die one day — that’s already decided — so what will you choose?
Will you leave behind an ordinary legacy, or will you decide to become extraordinary?
You are what you do
People do not decide to become extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things.
— Sir Edmund Hillary
A person is the sum of their actions.
Those who do ordinary things are ordinary people.
Those who do extraordinary things are extraordinary people.
You could have an idea that might change the world, but if you don’t follow it through — it’s nothingness. It’s pure potential, but nothing more.
When you’re trying to take the step from ordinary to extraordinary, it has nothing to do with your genetics or your pre-determined destiny.
To become extraordinary, you must simply do extraordinary things.
Extraordinary things aren’t what you think
Doing something extraordinary isn’t being Superman.
It’s not necessarily flying, lifting heavy things or laser beam eyes (although those would classify as extraordinary). It’s not winning the Nobel prize, or receiving a Gold medal.
Look at the word closer: extra — ordinary.
Extraordinary is just a small step beyond ordinary.
It’s doing that little bit extra.
Ordinary is what the majority of people are willing to do — it’s the Average Performers, the 68% in the middle of the bell curve. The statistical majority.
Being extraordinary is simply being in the top 16% of that bell curve — a High Performer. Doing what the majority aren’t willing to do.
What it takes to become extraordinary
I play basketball against a 54-year-old man called Ivan.
Ivan is fit, limber and he shoots the ball well.
It’s hard to believe that someone 30 years my senior can keep up with me. Even besting me on some possessions. How? Maybe he was born that way…
Or maybe not.
One day I got to the court at 5:15 am to warm up for a 5:30 start, and Ivan was already in there in a full sweat.
Ivan reminded me of a story about Kobe Bryant.
In 2015, Kobe tore the rotator cuff in his dominant right shoulder.
NBA player Anthony Davis described what happened after the injury:
“He comes down the very next play, they throw the ball to him in the post. He takes two dribbles, does a shimmy, and shoots the ball left-handed. And it goes in. I just stare at him on the court looking at the bench. I was just amazed that a guy comes in and says ‘okay I’m just going to shoot left-handed’.”
We look at this and think that he’s extraordinary.
And he is.
But it’s not the shot that’s extraordinary.
It’s only when we rewind to 1999 after Kobe had broken his right wrist that we see what’s truly extraordinary about him.
This famous picture of him working on his left hand in his pyjamas with a cast on his right hand personifies extraordinary.
The ordinary person would’ve admitted defeat, seeing the broken wrist as a setback.
But Kobe went beyond it. He saw it as an opportunity to become more ambidextrous.
And that’s what separated him.
That’s what made him extraordinary.
Not the shot itself, but the willingness to do what others weren’t willing to do in preparation.
Becoming extraordinary
To be different, you have to BE DIFFERENT.
Being special isn’t the result, it’s the process.
It’s:
Having a hard conversation when others won’t
Creating time for your physical health
Working on your mental strength
I know some religious folk ask themselves: “What would Jesus do?”
I try to ask myself: “What would the ordinary person do?”
And then do more.
Instead of accepting that you were born ordinary, start incorporating extraordinary measures into your life.
What are the areas of your life that you want to become extraordinary in?
Look at those areas and ask yourself:
“What would an extraordinary person do?”
When it comes to physical health, an extraordinary person will squeeze in a workout on their lunch break instead of saying they have no time.
When it comes to performance at work, an extraordinary person will put their phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’, block out their day into tasks and create a priority list to tackle.
The problem isn’t that you don’t know how to be extraordinary. The problem is that you think you can’t be — so you never try.
But that’s not true.
You’re not limited by anything.
Because…
You become extraordinary if you do extraordinary things.
Thank you for reading.
I’m just sharing the lessons learned on my path to building my Mental Fortress - an impenetrable and stable mind.
If you found it helpful, that’s great. I figured, why not share it with the world as I crystallise my own ideas.
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Sincerely,
Eren
As always, this is an original and inspirational piece of writing Eren. It is interesting that "ordinary" means "unimpressive" in Australian English, unlike American or British English. Maybe this represents a national bias towards seeking extraordinary.